Crossing the border with Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian.

Not the best, but not bad

BOSTON — Headed over to The Southpaw today, one of the Blue Jays’ fan blogs I frequent to keep the ol’ finger on the pulse of the fan base (or something), and there was an item noting a report that Toronto’s team ERA is the best in the American League since 1985

Decided to see if there was any truth to that, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s not even the Blue Jays’ best since ’85. With the aid of Toronto’s fine PR staff, we looked up the best staff ERA’s in the league since the Jays came into existence in 1977.

The best of the lot is the 1981 Yankees, who had a 2.90 team ERA in the strike-shortened season. The second-best is the 1989 A’s group that had a 3.09 ERA. The Jays’ current 3.54 team ERA, if it holds up, would rank 23rd overall in the Americal League, dating back to ’77.

The current staff would be the third-best showing since the Jays became a franchise. In 1985, Toronto had a 3.31 team ERA — ranked eighth since 1977. The 1991 Toronto squad had a 3.50 team ERA — good enough for 20th overall over that span.

Umm it might have something to do with it being a friday night game. Sadly some people have other priorities on a friday night than the blue jays, which is the primary reason why I wasn’t here. I did watch some of the game though, and it was absolutely terrible, nothing really positive to comment on, and I’d rather leave the negativity to the bandwagon fans.

trust me, Garryguy, I watch the Jays every night that it is possible. I live in Ohio, so I have Extra Innings, MLB.tv, and XM radio so I can listen to the Jays when I am in the car or at work. I just don’t get to talk on the blog a lot because I am focused on the game. I support my Jays win or lose, and I will continue to support them as long as I am alive! I’m extremely happy to see the Jays playing well today, although AJ seems to be in a little trouble right now..

Pipes. your right my friday nights are over sorry.
It’s just that no one blogs unless they are winning,I don’t mean everyone but a lot of them,Scroll down on the right to Ian Brownes blog and you will see how many post there are ,sometimes up to 300,Here some nights we only get 5 or 10.

that is a really good point GarryGuy. Jordan takes the time to write this incredible blog, and some nights there are just a few comments. I personally promise to try and be more active on the the blog, and hopefully other Jays fans will be too..for now, I need to get to work, so everyone have a great day, and Go Jays!

People actually doubted Snider could hit? Just look at how this guy has raked in the minors against players quite a bit older than himself. Although to be honest there still has to be a little bit of doubt about whether he should be in the big leagues next year or not. I personally think he can handle it, but there is always the off-chance that pitchers pick up some weaknesses in his swing and really exploit it. Some young players get the call too early and get their confidence shattered, but it doesn’t really look like Travis is the type of guy who will let his confidence get shattered.

Its still too early to tell if he will be good enough to be a dh/lf with the big league team this year. If he stuck with the big league club for a full season I’m sure with his power he’d hit at least 15 hr’s, but his avg might suffer if pitchers find a hole in his swing to exploit (pitchers almost always do). I guess the question becomes: “does he have anything else to learn in the minors?” He is still very young, and he certainly could use more experience in the field and more experience against veteran pitching, and AAA ball definitely offers the challenge of veteran pitching. Might be a very tough call for whoever our gm is, my guess is that the jays try to sign a veteran dh to a 1 year deal and then make Snider get some more seasoning in the minors, unless of course Snider forces the issue by killing minor league pitching.

pipes
I think Snider should be here, allowing us budget to solve other problems. The very best hitting coach in our system is Cito and Tennace, so if pitchers find a weakness, they’ll fix it faster than anyone else.

To go spend 5-10 million on a DH or 4th outfielder to keep Snider in AAA is counter productive for the team and Snider.

Yeah gsj I really do believe he should probably be here too, I just also want to make sure they don’t rush him too soon. Another possibility is that they keep him in the minors for the first month or so to save early arbitration (like the rays did with Evan Longoria). All depends on how cheap the jays are, hehe I hate when teams delay a guy who should obviously be in the bigs just to save a few bucks down the road.

Snider should be here to stay. Go out and replace Burnett with the money they’re saving by not having him. I love AJ, but no sense in overpaying. I expect he’ll go out and sign with the Yankees and sit on their payroll for a couple of years – maybe pulling a Pavano along the way.

Sign the big DH? Pointless – the Hafner/Ortiz/Giambi type DH would just serve to mess up the Jays. Do we need some big thumper who cant do anything else but swing the bat, clog the bases, and become a defensive liability? Or would you prefer a good hitter, who can sub in for a hurt outfielder or cover first base.

The playoff run is do-able. It has been done, we have the best staff in the league performing as usual, the best bullpen (hanging on), and some quality hitters who are hitting their stride (finally) at the right time. And we have a manager (finally) who knows what he’s doing.

I’m Toronto born, living in Scotland – and I have MLB.tv – this is my first full year away from my Jays, and reading this blog helps – even if I don’t chime in nightly. Jordan does a great job, and the regular guys are good to read too, even if I don’t agree.

Well after the loss last night, would you guys be happy if they can get to 90 wins ? I think that would be a pretty good season and would hope that would leave the majority of fans with optimism for next year. I’ve always thought this team is close and still do. I’d like to see A.J. back and Ryan traded. Not because I don’t like Ryan but just to get even more to spend (on A.J.)I think A.J. or another number 2 starter is more valuable to this team than Ryan considering the depth they have in the bullpen. If they can bring in a Manny, Giambi, Delgado or even Ibanez (ok maybe a younger version) this team will be a force next year.

Travis has been fun to watch and while I don’t expect him to be on the team next year at the least he adds a great peice to the future. There has been talk that the Jays would consider trading Overybay and moving Lind to first so that they can keep Travis in the outfield. If they can add a big bat like I said above that would be a great lineup.

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